HILS Home > Programs of Study > Biophysics
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Program of StudyThe biophysics program prepares investigators with diverse backgrounds for independent research careers in which the concepts and methods of physical science are applied to biological problems. Owing to the interdepartmental nature of the program, research may be pursued on the Cambridge campus (including within the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Physics, and in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or the Boston campus, including the Harvard Medical School, Division of Medical Sciences, and the 11 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.
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To nurture independent, creative scientists, the first part of the program seeks both to introduce the student to the faculty members and their research directly, enabling the student to make a considered choice of research advisor, and to involve the student in the diverse areas of biophysics through laboratory as well as coursework. These first two years provides a background for the second part of the program in which the student trains to be an independent scientist by a period of intensive research, culminating in publications and the PhD degree.
Most graduates of the biophysics program at Harvard have been undergraduate majors in physics or physical chemistry, though a few have come from biology. Consequently, the course requirements for admission are flexible.
Each student’s program of graduate study is planned in consultation with a faculty advisor.
The degree program is designed for completion in a maximum of six years. The first-year training provides an introduction to five diverse areas of biophysics: structural molecular biology, cell and membrane biophysics, molecular genetics, physical biochemistry, and neurosciences.
The curriculum includes learning experiences in a laboratory environment as well as coursework.
The program is flexible, and special effort has been devoted to minimizing formal requirements.
In the first ten weeks of the fall term, faculty members associated with the biophysics program give seminars describing the current research interests of their own laboratories. Following this, a student spends six-week periods in each of three different laboratories.
To make sure that the student gains familiarity with several fields of biophysics, each of the three laboratory experiences usually are selected from a different one of the areas of biophysics listed below.
It will also be possible to work on a suitable problem in mathematical biophysics in place of one of the three laboratory rotations. For more details on this and other aspects of the program, go to the Biophysics Program Website.
Students who already have the MD degree will find an opportunity to improve their knowledge of basic science in either of two ways. Opportunities may be available in the several departments to engage in investigations as a research fellow under the direction of a member of the faculty. No university credit toward a degree is given for such work. Questions concerning the appointment of research fellows should be directed to the faculty members.
Under special circumstances, students who have received the MD degree may become candidates for the PhD degree in biophysics, providing their qualifications for admission are approved and providing they are prepared to fulfill the normal requirements for the degree.
Combined MD-PhD Program
Students admitted to Harvard Medical School, as candidates for the MD degree, may also apply for admission to the biophysics program in order to earn a PhD degree in biophysics. This program may be of particular interest to prospective medical students with a strong background in physics and to students enrolled in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.
Courses in math, calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, and biochemistry would provide an ideal background for a student’s coursework in specialized areas of biophysics. No undergraduate major would have taken all these courses in college.
Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.
Students should request information and an application from:
Harvard University
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Holyoke Center 350
Cambridge, MA 02138-3654
telephone: 617-495-5315, 617-495-5396
e-mail: admiss@fas.harvard.edu
The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
More than 60 members of the Harvard faculty are currently affiliated with the Bbiophysics Program; thesis research with other faculty members is possible by arrangement.
A complete directory (searchable by research interest, name, and title) of faculty affiliated with the Biophysics Program can be found at the HILS Faculty Directory's Biophysics listing.